1'M S0RRY
by regularfrankie
Summary: As her life slips away with the cerulean blood coating the floor, Vriska finds she doesn't regret her past decisions, except for maybe one small secret.


The cool glint of the coin was a stain in Vriska's vision as the long, sharp staff plunged through her chest. The jutting end was coated in cerulean blue, twisting slightly in her flesh and forcing out a shocked gasp between her fanged grin. The unbearable pain didn't come from the wound, but rather the warm, comforting hands against her back. The hands of someone she loved.

The spear slipped out as swiftly as it entered, spattering her blood in a long streak across the dark gray floor. Familiar wetness began spreading on her skin, cascading down from the wound in rivers, the feeling sprung painful memories from deep within her mind. Memories she forced back down, wanting instead to reminisce a moment dear to her, if only she could piece it together. She wavered and her legs gave way under her, but she didn't feel a thing when she connected with the floor. It wasn't as cold as she thought it was under her feet, what used to be so cold had now creeped inside her. A chilling shiver spreading from the wound in her chest, combined with waves of shock rolling steadily down her body, she almost found the numbness to be very welcome. Everything in her body felt frozen, and with great effort, she turned to see Terezi one last time. She stood with her hands clutching the dirty weapon against her chest, as if for comfort, shaking uncontrollably. She was bent over and her vivid red eyes were wide, filled with fear, sadness, shock; her haunting gaze bore down on Vriska with vicious intensity. She looked like she was several sweeps younger, bent over and shaking like that, Vriska laughed weakly at the thought that just a few minutes ago she stood there tall and proud, preparing to serve the ruthless justice of her beloved ancestral legislacerator, neophyte Redglare. But here she was; unravelling into tears over the broken body of her friend, watching as her life slowly slipped away with the blood pooling on the dirty, bleak floor. Her image resonated in Vriska's mind, paralleling a memory she had kept to keep her company in the loneliness of her hive, something Terezi had probably forgotten by now.

They've gotten good at this FLARPing business, with a combination of proficiency and zest the Scourge Sisters hadn't yet been met with a single defeat. But this night went a little differently than expected; after slitting the throats of dozens of hapless victims and hours of previous questing, Vriska plunged the end of her weapon into the ground in triumph. She stood near the edge of a steep cliff, her lips curled into her iconic smile as she spun around, coat rippling with the motion, to greet her comrade. She remembers the fear that shot straight down her spine when her gaze was met with the empty eyes of an adversary, the adrenaline shooting through her veins knocked her off her feet almost as hard as the blow from the enemy. She cried out as she skidded across the rough ground, her fingers grasping to catch a rocky edge. She finds a lucky grip in the grass, the rest of her dangling perilously hundreds of feet above a stretch of jutting rock. The night casts heavy shadows around her as a clashing burst of teal and red appear above her, familiar hands urgently grip Vriska's, and she looks up to see Terezi's face painted with terror.

"You were supposed to have my back." Vriska's voice is strained, almost hurt.

The air lost the thrill of victory when astonishing strength finally pulls her back up to safety. She lands in a breathless heap on the ground; Terezi's glasses flash in the waning light, she's shaking. Vriska stares in amazement as teal-tinted tears begin streaming down Terezi's face, her lips trembling as she struggles to find the words.

"I'm sorry…"

It echoes in her head, the sincerity of those words, how vulnerable they were to each other. As she tries to focus on the increasingly blurry image of Terezi, the memory begins to melt in with her. Her hands shaking against her chest, the tears that threaten to spill over at any second, and her lips even tremble the same way. The pain in her chest had graduated to a dull aching; it felt like she was resting in calm waters, gently rocking back and forth with the waves. She lets her mind relive the memory over and over, reminiscing how she felt when she realized Terezi's sincerity. She feels her pierced heart thud with the overwhelming feeling; Terezi cared. Terezi cared if she died, she cared enough that she wanted to save her. She was important to her. Her own eyes began to water, but she embraced the silence; the pain of knowing she's never treated Terezi the same way, she's never admitted to love, that although her actions have led to this, she doesn't feel regret for anything she's done, except for that one mistake. She lies there motionless, her arms and legs overwhelmingly numb; drowning in the thoughts she'll never tell.

Terezi's eyes cloud as she watches her former friend slowly slip away, Vriska crumpled up and damaged in the middle of a steady flow of blue. She's paralyzed with shock, the bloody staff still gripped tight in her hands, and she's struggling to speak. She just wants to say it, she just wishes for the courage to tell her three simple words. She tries, and she tries, but her voice simply fails her. The scene echoes parallel to a memory from far ago, her breath shallow and her heart beating too fast, she finds the courage to loosen her tongue but she finds no heart in confessing her secret. Terezi feels her stomach twist, remorse hangs heavy upon her shoulders, but she'll never have the strength to say anything other than this.

"I'm sorry…"

Vriska gazes up at her with hooded eyes full of secrets, her lips twitch into her iconic, lively smile.

"Don't be."

And she rests her head, looking to the side; the sharp glint of a scratched coin is the last thing she sees.


End file.
